


Reclamation

by Negateaux



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22230922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Negateaux/pseuds/Negateaux
Summary: While the galaxy unites to celebrate its victory, Rey and Finn take some time to say some things that were left unsaid.
Relationships: Finn & Rey (Star Wars), Finn/Rey (Star Wars)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31
Collections: Finnrey Fanfic Connection





	Reclamation

Rey stares blankly at the neatly folded cloth Connix holds out to her. “What’s this?” She says with a raised eyebrow at the blonde in front of her.” Connix lets out a short laugh as if she’s just seen a child do something incredibly dumb.

“Clothes. Obviously.” Rey stares down at the cloth once more.

“But I’m already wearing clothes.” Connix cocks her head. Seemingly unable to determine if Rey is joking or not.

“You _cannot_ go to Coruscant dressed in that.” Rey looks down at her outfit. It was the same one she always wore, white sleeveless robes with just a dash of the old scavenger charm to it. She couldn’t go forgetting where she was from now could she? It was what she wore when the war ended, it was what she intended to keep wearing.

“What’s wrong with my clothes? I’ll have you know I wore this when-”

“Rey, come on.” Rose’s voice cuts in before Connix can protest. “This isn’t just some meeting we’re going to. It’s important that we all look presentable.”

“Plus, it’s a party.” Connix adds. “You dress nicely at parties.” Rey reaches out and grabs the folded cloth.

“I know how parties work.” Rey says quietly, more to herself than the girls around her. She turns away from them at starts to walk down the metallic hallways of the _Falcon_. She takes only a few steps before turning back to them, face red with embarrassment.

“I may need a hand with this. I don’t think I’ve ever worn one of these.” Connix rolls her eyes as a chuckle escapes from Rose.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Rey stands in her new regalia. Her face is locked in a frown as she surveys the mirror image of this girl that looks rather foregin to her. The dress chosen was considered quite “simple” by Connix upon its full reveal. The dress was a dark blue with just the smallest hint of grey in its coloration. It kept her signature sleeveless look while covering the rest of her torso before draping down to just above her feet. Rose had told her that there were traditionally more formal shoes she would wear but Rey had refused. Insisting on keeping the same one she’d already been wearing.

She looks down at her outfit, _Why would anyone wear something like this?_ She can’t help but think to herself. She feels naked without some kind of bandaging on her arms and legs but it had been insisted that she could _not_ wear anything of the type. And then there was the hair. Much like the shoes she had put her foot down about changing the style even for the evening. It ended up looking like she had stolen the outfit out of necessity rather than someone who actually belonged at a place it would be worn.  
A familiar wookie howl broke her out of the trance she’s found herself in. She turns towards the sound and greets him with a warm smile. “Oh, it’s nothing,” She responds. “Just trying to figure out what to do with,” She motions to herself. “All of this.” Chewie looks her over with his large marble-like brown eyes.

“Hrarh.”

“Aw, thanks, Chewie.” Rey says with a chuckle. “I’m just not sure about it. I feel like I’m missing something. Maybe a necklace or some bracelets or…” Rey trails off as she continues to look in the mirror. Chewie is silent for a few seconds before he chimes up.

“Hwwagh!” Chewie excitedly leaves the room before Rey can protest. She raises an eyebrow, confused as to what idea he could have had that would fix her conundrum. Rey turns away from the mirror and looks through her other clothing options. _Maybe I should just wear what I always do_. She waves the thought away, the others were right after all, this was a party. She’d been to very few parties like the one she’d be attending soon. She picks up a tiny durasteel circlet. Connix had mentioned it being a regular accessory for events like this one. She turns back to the mirror, ready to add the item.

What she sees instead makes her jump and drop the bracelet.

The face staring back at Rey is one of her nightmares. It’s her face, but wrong. The same face she saw in the ruins of the Death Star. Skin too smooth, too pale. A dark hood draped over her head. Eyes dark enough to absorb all the light in the universe.  
The reflection stands with its head cocked to the side, the faintest hint of its sharp teeth peeking out from a grin. Rey closes her eyes and shakes her head. _You’re not real. You’re not real!_ She opens her eyes once again, her reflection back to the way it was before. Normal. She takes several deep breaths. Letting each one out slowly. Just as Leia had taught her.

In the week since the Emperor's defeat, Rey had only seen the image once before. Then it was a nightmare. One very similar to the first encounter. Instead of attacking her though, it just kept laughing. Laughing like it was privy to some joke Rey herself could never hear. It had been haunting to be sure, a grim reminder that just because the Emperor was gone, the dark side would always remain.

The door to the room slides open once again with a very excited looking Chewie standing on the other side. He approaches Rey quickly and shoves something into her hands. “Hwwaargh!”  
“You found what?” Rey looks down at her hand to the metallic object now coated in wookie fur. It’s a dusty piece of tech she hasn’t seen in what feels like a lifetime. Her heart instantly jumps up a step when she realizes what it is.  
A tiny, transponder beacon. One that let’s someone with another of its kind know where you are amongst the stars. She hasn’t seen one since she left Ahch-To. Rey smiles at it and looks to Chewie. “You’re right, this was a good choice.” She slips it on, the light in the center still glowing a faint blue after all this time. She wonders where its other half was right now.

Rey turns back to the mirror for one last look before the doorway slides open once more. Connix stands in the doorway, decked out in a fancy white dress and a scowl across her face.

“You’re still not done yet? Hurry up, we just heard from Finn and Poe.” She turns away before Rey can respond and the door shuts. Rey looks at Chewie.

“How do I look, Chewie?” The wookie looks her over again.

“Heeghhwh.” Chewie says as he motions to her. Rey chuckles.

“Thanks, big guy, but I’m not sure there’s much to...show.” Rey turns a slight shade of red at the suggestion.

“Huuurrgh.” Chewie says as he walks over to the door and leaves. Rey looks back at the mirror one more time with a confused expression as she thinks on who Chewie had just mentioned.

“That’s true.” Rey says under her breath. She glances around the room in a feeble attempt to see if anyone was around. Which of course they weren’t. She reaches down to the slight slit in the side of her dress, finding the piece that lets you adjust it. She slides the slit up just a tiny bit before raising her head high and leaving to join the others.

* * *

At this point, Rey was almost sick of being impressed by every new planet she found herself on. Each place had something new she would never have experienced back on Jakku. Even still, she felt just the slightest bit proud when everyone else looked as impressed as she was.

After handing the _Falcon_ off the the pilot droid in charge of all the ships, Rose, Connix, Rey and Chewie step into the ballroom and are immediately blasted with an overwhelming sense of being underdressed. _All except for Chewie_ , Rey guessed as they crossed the threshold.

The place was immaculate to say the absolute least. The room, if it could even be called that, stretched further than most ships Rey had seen. The walls and floor shone like the Jakku sun with a polish she hadn’t seen once in her life. At least a dozen species mingled and danced around the room. She could confidently say that she did _not_ know what she was doing here.

Of course she knew the “official” reason for this party. Not only was it an end to the war but many of the surviving members of the New Republic government, like Leia’s friend, Ransolm Casterfo, would be meeting together to discuss the Republics future. She quietly hoped that they would leave her out of said discussions. She had felt far too much praise already from beating Palpatine, she prayed they didn’t ask her to “weigh in” like Poe had joked over transmission a few days ago.  
The four of them made their way over and around various party guests clad in their equally shiny outfits as they set off looking for the other half of their party.

A handsome red-skinned twi’lek server stopped them to offer what he called “the finest Correlian brandy.” Rey wasn’t really sure what “brandy” was but she thought it would be rude to decline. When she took a sip, three things she took note of pretty quickly. One, it didn’t go down easily and Rey had to fight back the urge to spit it back in the glass. Two, it was actually a very tastly beverage once she got past the initial shock. And three, Rose, clad in a deep scarlet dress, had been about to say something to Rey as she was getting the drink but whatever it was, was stopped by Connix who had the slightest hint of a grin on her face. Rey decided she would have more of that before the night ended.

A few minutes later Chewie yelled out that he could see the others. The four of them made their way over to where he pointed. The whispers of the onlookers increased with every step as what must have been the height of the evening came together in a cohesive whole. Chewie shoved aside the crowd and ran to embrace someone who already looked too tired to be here.

“How you doing, old buddy?” Yelled Lando as Chewie picked him up off the ground. Leia had told Rey once that Lando _never_ looked unfashionable so seeing him actually trying made Rey see why. His clothes fit like a glove even with his older frame, his hair was dyed back to its natural jet black and his outfit shone even more than the already shining room. He even wore a cape, something almost no one else in this room would dare try. Yet to him, it made perfect sense somehow.

Lando was flanked by two others Rey had never seen. Both were blue-skinned twi’leks and by the way the older of the two women hung on to Lando when Chewie put him down, Rey got the sense they were close. “Chewie!” The younger of the two said with an exhausted tone. “You know my dad has fragile bones, he can’t take your wookie hugs anymore.” Chewie stared at the young girl blankly. “Luckily for you, I can still take them.” The young girl then leapt into the wookies arms and hugged him tight.  
Lando looked to Rey and the others. “Allow me to introduce my two favorite people.” Lando motioned to the older twi’lek. “This is Kaasha, the light of my life. My ball and chain. My leash. My wife.” He takes her hand and kisses it but Kaasha just playfully rolls her eyes.

“It’s an honor to meet all of you.” Kaasha says with a bow. “Lando told me all about what you all went through recently. He gave us quite a scare.”

“Ah, we weren’t worried.” The younger one cuts in. “Mar’i Calrissian at your service.” The young twi’lek says with a planet sized grin. Dad’s been through a lot worse than that.” Mar’i shakes all their hands excitedly before stating she was going to “check out the local flavor.”

“She takes after you too much, love.” Kaasha says with her own smile.

“The boys won’t know what hit em.” Lando says with pride. “Speaking of boys, where did the others go?” The group looks around, Rey inferring that Lando must have been speaking about Poe and Finn. As if on cue, Rey hears the sound of an angry woman pushing her way through the crowd.

“This is so stupid.” A curly haired blonde woman steps out of the crowd. Rey is pleased to know at least one girl looks less in line than she does as the woman is dressed in what almost looks like armor, and not even the fancy kind. “How did I let you talk me into this, Poe?” Poe steps out of the crowd to the voice. His hair is slicked back and he’s clean shaven. His formal wear is night black with the small spot of white up around his neck.

“Don’t be that way, Zorri.” Poe says with a grin. “These things can be fun.” So this was Zorii without that mask? She looked so intense, eyes hard from seeing so assuredly harsh things. Jaw set in an almost permanent frown, even if it softens a bit when she looks at Poe.

Poe’s effect on the crowd is instant with many of the female patrons around him already starting to swoon. Rey would have almost agreed except her attention was focused elsewhere. Trailing quickly behind Poe came the visage of her oldest and most trusted companion. Whereas Poe was dressed in a pristine garb of black, Finn wore the opposite. He struggled with his neckwear as he approached the group. His broad shoulders perfectly filled out the white garb. A color that contrasted with his dark skin tone. Rey couldn’t help but smile at how he too looked out of place at a party like this. Even after all this time, the two of them were still a pair of outsiders.

Finn and Rey lock eyes and the pit of Rey’s stomach warms. He gives her one of his perfect white smiles and approaches. It’s only been a week since they saw each other last but she still misses that look.  
Finn wraps his arms around Rey and she returns the embrace in earnest. They linger for a few seconds before breaking apart. They remain in contact after the embrace. “Rey,” Finn says looking her over. “You look amazing!”

“So do you.” Rey says quickly before she even really thinks about it. Finn smiles again.

“I feel like everytime we’re apart you do something crazy. How was Tatooine? Did you build the lightsaber you mentioned? Did you-”

“Slow down, Finn.” Rey says finally ending the contact. “We have all night to catch up on the last week.” Finn nods.

“Sorry,” Finn says with a hand rubbing his neck. “I just get really excited about all this Jedi stuff you do.”

“You never need to apologize for asking.” Rey looks over Finn’s shoulder. “Where’s Jannah? I thought she was coming with you guys.” Finn rolls his eyes.

“She was. All of them were supposed to come. Instead, they’ve spent the better part of the week getting drunk at the First Orders defeat.Can’t blame them really, I might have done the same if I were one of them. So they told me to have enough fun for all of them. Show some,” Finn leans in close and whispers. “stormtrooper pride I guess.” Rey nods. “Speaking of which,” Finn continues. “Have you seen the food selection they got here?! I’ve never seen anything like it. We have to go and check it out, Rey.” Of all the things Finn still got excited about, food was the one that Rey found she couldn’t resist having the same fasciation as her friend had. More than once, the two of them would be caught stuffing their faces whenever possible. It wasn’t often but her life on Jakku and his as part of the First Order had hardly given them the chance to indulge before. Even if they looked like a pair of loth-cats getting caught in the pantry when people would come by.

Rey was about to agree, more enthusiastically than she would like to admit, Poe came between them. “Sorry to interrupt, Rey but I need to borrow Finn for a minute.” Both Rey and Finn raise an eyebrow at the request. “Some news reporter wants to interview you. “The stormtrooper who helped save the galaxy’ or something like that. It should just take a minute but she’s over that way.” Poe says with a knock of his head. Finn looks to Rey as if he’s asking for permission to go. It’s clear he’d rather do his initial suggestion but Rey gives him an approving nod. He deserves just as much recognition as she does, _maybe more_. Rey thinks to herself.

Finn walks over and gives her one more quick hug. “I’ll be back soon, Rey. Save a dance for me.” As he begins to pull away, Rey grips the sleeve of his jacket just a tad.

“Sorry, a what?” Rey asks, confused.

“Don’t tell me you thought you could get out of here without dancing? Every man in this room will want a piece of you after saving the galaxy. Hope you got some practice in!” Finn pulls away and Rey lets go. She watches him leave with the warmness in her stomach is replaced with nervous butterflies. She quickly accepts the next glass of brandy when it’s offered.

Rey hadn’t noticed it before but after Finn said it, she was starting to understand what he meant. Everywhere she went, people’s eyes were on her. She guessed that this is what came with being a “hero” but she couldn’t deny it made her uncomfortable. She wonders if Luke and the others felt the same way when the war with the Empire ended. Especially Luke, who never seemed like the kind of person who enjoyed the spotlight. Every few minutes someone would come up to her and thank her for defeating the Emperor but each time it just felt more and more hollow. She tries to get it from their perspective though and she gives each one a knowing smile and a thank you before moving to another part of the room. _No one’s asked me to dance yet though, so maybe I can-_ Her thoughts get cut off when a tall man with red skin and two large brown horns atop his head stops her. “Mistress Rey. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He’s quite tall. Easily a head above her. A devaronian if Rey remembered. He slowly grabs Rey’s hand and raises it to his lips. Rey has to fight every urge to retract it. She knows it’s a common formality to some.

“You know my name.” Rey says quickly. “Yet I don’t know yours.” The man smiles.

“My friends call me Kled. Hopefully I can count you among them.”

“I am always looking for friends. You can drop the ‘mistress’ though. I prefer to just be Rey.” Kled nods.

“Rey it is. Tell me, Rey: If it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle for you, I would like you to join me for a dance. My family and I have always supported the Resistance efforts and especially the work of the late general Organa, may she rest in peace.” Rey’s heart started thumping again. The man seemed nice enough, perhaps he wouldn’t judge her too harshly for her lack of ability. On the other hand, if she couldn’t dance, perhaps she could avoid it all together.

“Sorry to disappoint, Kled. I can do many things, but dancing isn’t one. I’m afraid I might embarass you.” She expected him to frown in distaste or show even a hint of displeasure. Instead he smiled a row of sharp teeth.

“That’s no problem. I’ll show you.” Before she could raise and concern, he wrapped one hand around her shoulder and took her to the dance floor. Rey takes a deep breath. _You can do this. You are a Jedi, you have the force, you can do anything!_ Hopefully that internal pep talk would do the trick.

* * *

Whatever worries Rey had going in were dashed rather quickly. Kled turned out to be a very good teacher. Showing incredible patience when she tripped and stepped on his foot. All three times. After a while though she came into the groove. The dance would start off rather slow but after a while, it would evolve into a long series of spins and holds that made Rey dizzy. Still, she couldn’t resist the fact that she was having fun. Especially after her third glass of brandy. Then it got really going. After doing her best to get the dance going, it became one long dance. She would be passed from partner to partner without much fanfare. She’d start with Kled, a few twirls later she’d be with another alien she couldn’t remember the name of, and even ended up partnered with Poe after he’d convinced Zorii to join him. After quite some time though, eyes full of laughter-tears and feet tired from all the dancing, she separated from the group. She couldn't escape the feeling that something was missing. That and she had started to develop a small headache as the night went on. Maybe it was the brandy.

A large line of balconies covered the outside ring of the event. Most were occupied by the dozen, whether by couples looking to get away, or people just trying to get some fresh air. It took her a full ten minutes before she found one that _only_ had eight other people in it. She decided that was small enough.

The night chill was surprisingly welcome as she crossed the threshold once again. The other patrons still gave her surprised looks but she was able to ignore them as she took on the cities full glory. There was more civilization in this small portion of the city than she had seen at any point before this. She had heard others talk about Coruscant’s beauty before but it was indescribable to her as she stood before it. Rey stands on the edge of the balcony, hands draped over the railing. She closes her eyes and drinks in the cool night air. It’s both calming and a little sobering.

“You were supposed to save me a dance.” Rey can’t see Finn as he approaches but she can almost _feel_ the smug grin on his face as she turns to him. His forehead is coated in sweat and his black tie is loose around his neck. He must have been dancing as well.

“Yeah, sorry about that. How was your interview?” Finn doesn’t answer immediately as he joins her on the railing to look out at the night city.

“Pretty overwhelming actually. The reporter had so many questions I hadn’t even given much thought to.”

“Like what?” Rey asks, curious.

“I don’t know, she kept asking _why_. Why did I do this, why did I do that, where do I think I would be now if I hadn’t defected? It’s all a bit much for me.”

“I know what you mean. All night people keep asking me about fighting the Emperor, being a Jedi, how it feels saving the galaxy. I never once thought about it like that. I just wanted to,” Rey can’t help but look Finn in the eyes as she finishes. “Protect the people close to me.”

“You’ll get no arguments from me. Rose once told me that we don’t win by destroying what we hate. We win by saving what we love.” When she said it, I wasn’t really sure what it meant. Now though,” Finn returns the hard gaze Rey had just given him. “Now I know exactly what she meant.” The two of them linger in a stare for a moment before Finn breaks eye contact. The tickle on the back of her mind returns again, she can feel his desire to say something. Normally she’d likely let him come to her, let him go at his own pace but she can’t let it go this time. Maybe it was the brandy but she felt like she had a few things to get off her chest as well. No better time than now.

Rey takes a few steps towards Finn leaving only a few inches between them. He looks just a tad shocked but makes no move to pull away. “It’s pretty nice out right now, isn’t it?” Finn looks confused by the question.

“Yeah certainly. Much better than Jakku.” She gives him a small shove.

“It may have been awful but it was still my home.” She says with a smile. Finn nods in response. Silence passes between them for a few moments, Rey’s heart starts to beat harder and harder with each passing moment. _Just get to it already!_ She yells in her mind.

“Oh,” Finn begins as Rey’s mouth opens. “I just realized I never told you what I was going to say before. Back when we were sinking in that desert.” Rey closes her mouth and thinks back. It was true, he’d never mentioned it again after that moment, even when she’d pressed him before. Whatever it was, clearly must have been important if he didn’t want to say it in front of Poe but there’s something important about it, whatever it is. Her mouth moves before she can stop it.

“Wait, there’s something I have to tell you first.” He’s clearly a little put off by his moment being cut but she can’t let him say what he needs to say without first acknowledging a fault of hers. “I want to apologize.” Finn smiles.

“For what?”

“For...everything really.” He cocks his head to the side, confused but remains silent. “You really don’t know what I’m talking about?” He shrugs and shakes his head. “I used the force on you, Finn. And never once did I apologize for it!” The words come out harsher than she expects. Finn isn’t fazed. He just nods in understanding. For a second, he says nothing as he looks out over the city. Rey’s headache throbs but she takes a few deep breaths.

“Look,” Finn begins with an even voice. “I told you once before that I know it’s different for you. Our struggles to get where we are now are not the same.” Finn moves his hand over Rey’s. The feeling instantly soothes her. Its warmth a welcome in the cool evening. “When that happened,” Finn continues. “I admit, it didn’t feel great. I thought we were a team, you and me. But ever since we found out about Palpatine, you did everything you could to go it alone. Even so, I can’t let you take all the blame. What was I going to do against Ren? It hurt, sure but in the end, I know you were just trying to protect me.”

Finn removes his hand and the two just look at each other for a while. She can’t believe the kindness in _this_ man. She spends the whole journey mistreating him and he just goes and forgives her without any hesitation. Rey shifts her gaze slightly and notices something she hadn’t before. His lips seemed to be calling to her. _Why hadn’t I noticed that before?_

“Anyway, now that we have the sappy stuff out of the way,” Finn’s gaze turns excited. “Rey, I wanted to tell you that--” Finn is cut off as his mouth gets enveloped by another. Rey didn’t really have a plan when she kissed him. Just that she knew she wanted to do it. She can’t help but compare it to her kiss with Ben. While that had been a storm of emotions she still wasn’t prepared to deal with, this one...this one felt like the place she was meant to be. She stands awkwardly on her toes to reach him but when they connect, electricity stormes through her body. She wraps her arms around his head and Finn caresses her body close.

It’s not clear how long they stay connected like that but Rey only pulls away when her headache starts to throb again. She looks him in the eyes, both of them smiling and taking deep breaths. Once again, she’s reminded that home isn’t with Luke, it isn’t with Ben, it isn’t even with the Skywalker name or Palpatine or the knowledge of who her parents were. Home is right here, with Finn. The stormtrooper turned Resistance general. And her hero.

“I think I have the force!” Finn blurts out quickly as if he can’t possible allow for another interruption, even if it’s one he seemed to enjoy. Rey raises her eyebrows in surprise.

“What?”

**Author's Note:**

> Like a lot of you, I was ready to give all this up after seeing TROS. And yet, something kept making me come back. There is still a chance for these two someday and I hope we get to see it. A couple of things to note. One, I know in deleted scenes or whatever, they confirm Jannah is Lando's daughter and that he doesn't have a family. I thought that was dumb though because he had a great love interest in Last Shot (a canon novel) and I wanted to include her. God forbid one character have a happy family, right? And because they didn't confirm it, it's still a bit up in the air. Second, I like to write Rey as a bit ignorant about real world stuff, she grew up in a sand-based hell hole so I doubt she knows what brandy or its effects. Thirdly, I wanted Chewie's dialogue to be more implied than saying exactly what he said. Thus, I had to write letters how I imagine his voice sounds.  
> All that being said, I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know how I can improve, what you like and what you didn't I always enjoy writing these two.


End file.
